Paper Number
ECIS2026-2407
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
The European Union (EU) mandates digital technologies, which we call Regulatory-mandated Digital Technologies (RMDTs). Although the introduction of those is often well-intended, for instance, to support twin transition, it can lead to fundamental challenges for organizations. This is especially relevant for small-, medium-, and mid-sized enterprises (SMMEs) as they have no or only limited resources to adopt RMDTs, and there is scarce adoption guidance in existing literature. In this paper, we focus on Digital Product Passports (DPPs) as a prominent example of this class of digital technologies and explore how SMMEs respond to them. Based on 32 interviews and a Grounded Theory-driven analysis, we specified three phases that SMMEs can enter to manage DPPs: decision and assessment, digital disappearance, and digital adoption. Our study identifies emerging threats SMMEs should consider and outlines implications to facilitate the adoption of current and upcoming RMDTs.
Recommended Citation
Paeplow, Johanna Meike; Emons, Sebastian; Jussen-Lengersdorf, Ilka; Schoormann, Thorsten; and Möller, Frederik, "How Small To Mid-Sized Enterprises Respond To Regulatory-Mandated Digital Technologies: The Case Of Digital Product Passports" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/is_policy/is_policy/3
How Small To Mid-Sized Enterprises Respond To Regulatory-Mandated Digital Technologies: The Case Of Digital Product Passports
The European Union (EU) mandates digital technologies, which we call Regulatory-mandated Digital Technologies (RMDTs). Although the introduction of those is often well-intended, for instance, to support twin transition, it can lead to fundamental challenges for organizations. This is especially relevant for small-, medium-, and mid-sized enterprises (SMMEs) as they have no or only limited resources to adopt RMDTs, and there is scarce adoption guidance in existing literature. In this paper, we focus on Digital Product Passports (DPPs) as a prominent example of this class of digital technologies and explore how SMMEs respond to them. Based on 32 interviews and a Grounded Theory-driven analysis, we specified three phases that SMMEs can enter to manage DPPs: decision and assessment, digital disappearance, and digital adoption. Our study identifies emerging threats SMMEs should consider and outlines implications to facilitate the adoption of current and upcoming RMDTs.
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